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Etched Mandala
The Etched Mandala is a landmark in Sundry. It appears to be a merging of Sundry's natural landscape with a Shard. Appearance The Mandala consists of an elaborate design etched into the Ashlands of Sundry. The main components of the design are four concentric squares. From outer to inner, their sides are 200 metres, 108 metres, 40 metres and 8 metres respectively. Each of the major squares have lines 40cm wide, etched into the ash to a depth of 10cm. The walls of the etchings are perfectly smooth and hard, as if the ash has been compacted into stone. Between these major squares are a multitude of smaller, intricate designs. These demonstrate symmetry around the centrepoint. Etchings are in different colours: blue, white, green, yellow and red. At the centre of the Mandala is a circle 3 metres across. In the centre of this circle is a small stone pillar, just wide enough to sit on, with a mat made of wooden beads resting on top of it. This stone acts as the lynchpin of the Mandala. Phenomena The Mandala's phenomenon is activated by the stone pillar in the centre. To generate the phenomenon, a user must sit atop the pillar, and use a combination of concentration and magical energy to manipulate expressions of the Mandala's patterns. By doing so, they may switch the Mandala through four main configurations: *Ashlands of Sundry *A rice paddy, with patches of bamboo jungle at the edges of the Mandala *A rock garden *Ruins of a red temple These changes are visible from outside the Shard, and remain stable until the Mandala is activated again. It is understood that further configurations are possible; however, to generate them would require modifications to the Mandala's design. Until further research has been completed, the Luminous Society has decided not to pursue this, lest it destabilise such a valuable site. Magical energy of any type can be used to power the Mandala. Mental focus appears to be the more important component. It is not advised that inexperienced users attempt to manipulate Mandala, as even with guidance and prowess with the user's own magic, a deviation in concentration can result in disastrous effects, e.g. the Mandala being stuck between two configurations, or the rice paddy being filled with lava instead of water. Field Notes With the nun Nam Mo's assistance, Dr Duncen, Concord and I have arrived at an exciting hypothesis about the Etched Mandala. If we are correct, this will make the location truly unique in Sundry - neither Shard nor Sundry, but a merging of the two that allows unique insight into the workings of The Embodiment itself. We theorise that the Mandala permits access to the Embodiment's inner programming - rather like a computer terminal - allowing the user to manipulate the world in much the same way as the Embodiment does. This interface, however, is through the lens of the Shard's original world's magic. By changing Sundry, the Embodiment has left itself open to being modified itself. Why only in this location? Have we missed others? Thus far, we can only theorise. A possibility: despite her protests, Nam Mo appears to be rather more than a simple nun... — I. Kallinar Category: Locations Category: Luminous Society